WASHINGTON — The nation's chief drilling regulator said Tuesday his agency is slated to impose a swath of new mandates governing the design and cementing of offshore wells in response to vulnerabilities revealed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

He stressed that it was highly unlikely the government will extend its ban on deep-water exploration after it expires Nov. 30 - but he insisted that the speed of well approvals depends on how quickly oil and gas companies comply with new safety requirements.

Bromwich also said he expects to make recommendations on how to lift the moratorium by the end of the month - four weeks ahead of schedule.

During an eight-city listening tour on offshore drilling that wrapped up Monday, Bromwich said he wasn't convinced the government should extend the deep-water drilling ban.

Instead, Bromwich said, he was encouraged that the nation already is better prepared to deal with another oil spill than it was on April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 and unleashing a record- setting spill from BP's Macondo well.

"I think we're in a different place now than we were on July 12 when the moratorium was imposed, where we were still floundering around trying to cap the Macondo well and where all available spill response resources were being soaked up by . . . the spill," Bromwich said. "It is highly unlikely the moratorium will continue beyond Nov. 30."

Even when the ban is lifted, drilling won't begin immediately.

Bromwich said Tuesday "it will be up to industry when deep-water drilling can resume, because they will only be able to resume once they're in compliance with the existing rules" and coming mandates.

Industry analysts say it could take weeks - or longer - for the offshore energy bureau to sign off on new deep-water well applications, given the current slowdown in permitting shallow projects that are not blocked by the moratorium.

Confusion about the scope of new requirements has held up some of those approvals. Bromwich said he hoped to prevent a repeat whenever the deep-water drilling ban is lifted.

"We fully understand that with new rules coming down the pike, there is the risk of confusion and uncertainty," he said. "And I really don't want that to extend the point where drilling can resume."

Bromwich vowed to communicate new requirements as clearly as possible and answer industry questions.

"We will do our very best once the rules are out there and the questions start to flow in to answer those questions so that people have the clarity that they need ... in order to come into full compliance," Bromwich said.

In other developments Tuesday:

Oil and gas industry leaders panned the Obama administration's plan to pay for improvements at the offshore energy bureau by more than doubling inspection fees. Instead of hiking fees, API President Jack Gerard said the administration should consider tapping the billions the industry sends to the government annually in royalties, bonus bids and taxes. The White House is now asking for an additional $66 million - or $249.9 million total - to overhaul the government's oversight of domestic oil and gas development.

Bromwich said he was redeploying bureau employees to work on shallow-water drilling applications in a bid to speed up permitting. He also said he would consider a proposal from industry advocates to create a tiered review process for those applications, with the level of analysis pegged to risk.

Bromwich said it appears that the deep-water drilling moratorium has not spurred a mass exodus of rigs from the Gulf of Mexico - an outcome predicted by some industry supporters.

"We do have some information that we've collected on our own," Bromwich said, "and those would seem to support the media account that only a couple of rigs have left, and the bulk of them have stayed."